TV Restaurants

What Happened to Marie's Italian Specialties? (Chatham, NJ)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Marie's Italian Specialties has closed — confirmed via Yelp, July 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
patch.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A 2026 Yelp listing marks the restaurant permanently closed, and a September 2019 Patch article confirms co-owner Carl Ruiz's death; a Foursquare listing for the same address is also tagged as now closed.

  • Season / episode Season 16, Episode 6
  • Original air date
  • Address 641 Shunpike Rd, Chatham, NJ 07928

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What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited this Chatham restaurant on the January 21, 2013 episode "Hometown Haunts," showcasing housemade pastas, meatballs, and other from-scratch Italian dishes served in a small storefront dining room typical of the area's family-run Italian delis. The restaurant opened in 2011 on Shunpike Road and was co-owned by Food Network personality Carl Ruiz and his then-wife, Marie Riccio. A Yelp business page, updated 2026-07, marks the restaurant as permanently closed at that address; the listing does not give an exact closure date. Patch reported in 2019-09 that Ruiz, who went on to co-host Food Network's Triple D Nation, had died at age 44. A Foursquare listing for the same Shunpike Road address is also tagged as now closed, corroborating the Yelp listing.

Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season / episode
Season 16, Episode 6
Original air date
Episode title
Hometown Haunts
What was featured
housemade pastas, meatballs, and from-scratch Italian dishes
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Marie's Italian Specialties

Frequently asked questions

Is Marie's Italian Specialties still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Marie's Italian Specialties has closed — confirmed via Yelp, July 2026.

What happened to Marie's Italian Specialties after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited this Chatham restaurant on the January 21, 2013 episode "Hometown Haunts," showcasing housemade pastas, meatballs, and other from-scratch Italian dishes served in a small storefront dining room typical of the area's family-run Italian delis. As of September 2026, Marie's Italian Specialties has closed — confirmed via Yelp, July 2026.

Is Marie's Italian Specialties permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Marie's Italian Specialties has closed — confirmed via Yelp, July 2026. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Marie's Italian Specialties located?

641 Shunpike Rd, Chatham, NJ 07928. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Marie's Italian Specialties?

Season 16, Episode 6 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, first aired January 21, 2013. The episode is titled “Hometown Haunts”.

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Visit info

Address
641 Shunpike Rd, Chatham, NJ 07928
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/maries-italian-specialties-chatham
  • patch.com — https://patch.com/new-jersey/chatham/food-network-star-nj-native-carl-ruiz-dies-44
  • Foursquare — https://foursquare.com/v/maries-italian-specialties/4eb57ac19adfc687126b40f5

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Record ddd-0578 · last verified .